Who Can It Be Now?
by The Pen Vs The Sword
Summary: Vanilla leaves Cream and Cheese at home by themselves for the day. What happens when a stranger comes knocking on their door in the dead of night? One-shot.


**A/N:** Once again, that time of year is upon us. Where people are giving paper hearts and chocolates. So, I decided to give you all a Valentine's Day gift.

**Sword:** Yay! How romantic.

**Pen:** Curse you Cupid.

As usual, I own none of the characters. They're owned by Sega while the song that inspired this story is owned by Men at Work.

**Sword:** Story time! Yay!

**Who Can It Be Now?**

The sunlight peeked silently into the small room. Dust particles swirled around in it gracefully as it slowly found its way to the bed in the room, along with its small occupant. On top of the white bed, snuggled under some yellow blankets, was a small beige young rabbit, Cream, snored softly. Her tiny chest rose and fell, causing her small blue chao, Cheese, to rise and fall each time.

The intruding light hit Cheese first, causing the small creature to blink bleary eyed and give a small yawn, his tongue touching the blanket. Whining in his native language, he spit out the taste of fur from the fuzzy blanket and looked around.

Stretching his back, arms, and tiny wings, Cheese flew up into the air to wake himself up before flying over his owner's head. Hovering slightly above her, he cooed and called to her in his incomprehensible language known only to a few.

Cream yawned and slowly opened her eyes to be greeted by the already bright-eyed chao. Looking off at the window where the sun could now clearly be seen, she rubbed the sand from Mr. Sandman's visit last night out of her eyes and sat up.

"Oh goody! It's morning!" she exclaimed. The excited rabbit hopped out and nearly tripped over her long purple nightgown as she ran over to the window and pried it open. She leaned out the open window, breathing in the fresh scent of dew while Cheese flew about outside happily.

"What a beautiful sunrise," Cream commented. The streaks of pink could still be seen as the sun rose higher, as if demanding an aubade for its beauty from its audience. The young girl watched it for only a few seconds longer before calling Cheese to come back. "Let's go get some breakfast!"

"Chao, chao!" Cheese replied happily as he zoomed back into her peach colored room.

Cream hummed to herself cheerily while cracking eggs into a pan on the clean white stove, imitating her mother's actions when she had been taught how to cook eggs. Cheese flied around the marble white kitchen, grabbing different utensils and ingredients for the young rabbit to add.

"How would you like your eggs Cheese?" Cream asked. The little chao began describing his desire in his language, which Cream somehow understood. "Sunny side up it is then."

After making and scooping the eggs onto a plate for her pet and herself, Cream sat at the table with Cheese. The chao cooed happily as he enjoyed the delicious breakfast while Cream noticed a note on the fridge in her mother's handwriting. She pushed away from the table, hopped out of her chair, and walked over to read it.

"Went shopping. Be back later. Love Mama," Cream read aloud. Cream returned to her food and looked at Cheese. "Guess we can't go outside then. Not while Mama's out." She glanced forlornly out a nearby window and sighed. "And it's such a pretty morning too."

Once they were both done with their meal, Cream disposed of the dishes in the dishwasher and cleaned off the stove of any mess. Then they both headed for her room, where she quickly changed into her usual attire of an orange dress and large blue bow tie, and then the living room, where they decided to play hide and seek.

After several hours, both of them were getting hungry again, and the sun had already long set a couple of hours ago. Cream suggested they make some chocolate chip cookies, which Cheese readily agreed to. But before they could make their way back to the kitchen, the doorbell rang, followed by a sharp rap at the door.

_Who can it be knocking at my door?_ Cream wondered. The only people she could think of would be her mother or one of her friends. She glanced nervously at Cheese, who looked equally confused.

Cream waited and wondered aloud to Cheese and herself. "If it was Mama, she would have said something right?" The little rabbit had no idea what to do. She could either wait, open the door, or yell at the person togo away, don't come around here no more. But Cream was far too polite and kind to say something so harsh. And Vanilla had told her to never open the door for a stranger.

Looking around, Cream spied a nearby digital clock which read that it was past eight o'clock. "Can't you see that it's late at night?" she seemed to ask the now silent door.

After waiting for several minutes, the duo decided that the person had left. So the traipsed into the kitchen and went about getting raw cookie dough, chocolate chips, and a mixing bowl for it all. Cream tried to forget about the unknown visitor and pretend it was all her imagination.

"I'm very tired from playing all day_**,**_" she reasoned with herself as she molded the cookie dough onto a sheet with tin foil. "It's just lateand I'm not feeling right. Yes, that must be it."

She hummed a light tune as she popped the sheet of soon-to-be cookies into the oven. Taking off her oven mitts and placing them neatly on the counter, she turned to Cheese. "What should we do now?"

But before the chao could answer her, the loud knock rang through the whole house once again, followed by the ding of the doorbell.

Cream was now very frightened. She moved to the wall of the kitchen and slunk along it, leaning her head ever carefully out to peer into the living room. Seeing nothing, she looked at Cheese, who had copied her movements, and signaled him to stay quiet.

Tip-toeing carefully, Cream and Cheese snuck into the living room and dove behind the beige couch, going prone on the soft carpet. Cream looked back at Cheese and whispered, "Stay here." to which he nodded.

The scared rabbit slowly stood up and and poked her head above the couch to stare at the door, which faced her like a silent giant. No movement came from it and no sound came for several long seconds until the dreaded combination came from it again.

Cream yelped and ducked back down. She curled up, grabbing her knees tightly, and burying her face in between them. She sniffed, trying to hold back the tears of fear that threatened to run down her face. "Why won't they leave?" she asked Cheese quietly. "All I wish is to be alone until Mama comes home."

Cheese reached out to her shoulder with his stubby arm and patted it. He cooed and tried to comfort her while the knock came again.

Cream looked up, sniffing and drying her eyes of any tears. She gazed upward and wiped her nose. "What can I do?" she wondered.

"Chao, chao!" Cheese told her.

Cream nodded at him and stood up, tightened her small fists and puffed out her chest. "You're right Cheese. I don't have to be afraid. I need to be brave. Like Mr. Sonic!"

Cheese chirped and flew around her. Cream giggled and nodded. "Yes, this is our home. I can be brave." Turning around, she faced the door with new conviction. "Stay away," she began, talking more so to the door than whoever waited on the other side.

She was answered by the doorbell, which sent Cheese scurrying behind her. Cream gulped and continued, though her voice was becoming quieter and in a higher pitch. "Don't you invade my home," she warned.

A one-two of the knock and the doorbell called her out on her bluff. The rabbit's knees were knocking together and her heart pounded in her chest. "If you stay, it would be best off if you hang outside and don't come in-" A knock interrupted her. "OrI'll-"

Now the knocks were louder and more forceful. Cream dashed away from the couch, scrambling up the wooden stairs with Cheese in tow. Once they had reached her room, she slammed the door, locked it and dove under the bed. Covering her eyes, she finished her sentence. "-only run and hide," she lamented.

Cream had stayed hidden, along with Cheese under her bed for twenty agonizing, long minutes before she ventured out from underneath it. Holding up the blanket to let Cheese out, she listened for the door, but heard no sound. She pressed her ear against the door, using her acute hearing to see if there was anyone still down there. But the house was still.

"Maybe they've gone away," Cream suggested to Cheese and herself. Cheese seemed worried and floated behind her head, his wings beating as fast as his panicked heart. He mumbled quietly to Cream, who glanced back. "We need to get the cookies out of the oven anyway. Otherwise, it might start a fire."

Placing her hand gently on the door as if she expected it to burn her, Cream twisted the knob so that she could quietly open it. It creaked a little, not much to alert anyone, but enough that the little rabbit's wild state of mind believed that anyone within several miles of the house could hear it.

After sneaking out of the room, the duo climbed down the stairs, avoiding any squeaky ones, and crawling into the kitchen on their bellies. Once in the safety of the kitchen, they both hopped up and Cream pulled the cookies out of the oven, careful not to burn herself.

"Whew!" she breathed a sigh of relief. "Just in time!" The cookies did not carry a singe or mark on them at all. Cheese picked one up, playing hot potato with it as he tried not to burn his hands, and chewed in delight at the softness of it.

"Chao!" he exclaimed happily.

Cream giggled, but stopped as soon a doorbell ring sounded throughout the house. "Oh no," Cream moaned, her heart once again speeding up. She looked around the kitchen, wondering if there was anything that could help her. The phone hung idly on the wall, but she did not know anybody's number and her mother had no cell phone of any kind.

That was when her eyes rested on the cookies. Grinning widely, she grabbed a plastic red bowl from a cupboard and placed the cookies into it, despite Cheese's whines of protest to keep the delicious treats for themselves.

_Who can it be knocking at my door?_ she wondered again. _It must be very chilly for them_. Turning back to see Cheese behind her, Cream made a shushing gesture that told him tomake no sound and tip-toe across the floor to the door. _If he hears, he'll knock all day,_Cream reasoned. _And then__I'll be trapped, and here I'll have to stay_ _until Mama comes home_. Cream looked down at the batch of cookies, hoping her plan would work. _Maybe they will go away if I give them these_, she reasoned.

Before, she opened the door, or even unlocked it, she decided it might be best to look out the peephole first. Finding this new found courage she had not had the first time, she quickly pushed a chair against the door and stood on it, peering out through the tiny hole.

She saw nothing outside. Just her empty, lit-up street with a few piles of leaves in the yards being blown away and scattered by the wind, much to the chagrin of the residents who would find out this detail in the morning. Cream tried to look down, but could not see anything.

The rabbit was about to climb down when the door vibrated with a forceful knock. Cream yelped, falling off the chair and nearly onto Cheese. The chao hovered over her, making panicked noises until Cream quieted him down. "I'm fine. I've done no harm to myself or anything else Cheese," she whispered.

The cookies were, thankfully, still in the bowl, but now Cream had lost all nerve that had been built up. Her mind was working overtime in its fearful state as the knocking continued. Thoughts such as _If_ _I keep to myself_ _stay quiet, maybe they will go away_ or _What if it's a monster? _ran through her mind.

At this point, Cheese began worrying about his close friend. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and she was chewing her nails through her gloves, muttering to herself about the possibility of a monster now. "Chao, chao," Cheese asked cautiously, patting her shoulder.

"There's nothing wrong with mymind," she told him. It was bad enough that there was a persistent stranger at the door. Now her _state of mental health_ was being called into question. "I was just thinking about how it could be a monster. What would we do?" Visions of the Metorex ran through her head, making her shivering become a quake of fright.

Cheese sat on her head, trying to comfort her. It did help a little. Cream started to calm down a little as she remembered that she was in her house, which was locked tight, and with Cheese, one of her best friends. She always did say that "I like it here with my childhood friend," when asked about what she thought of her home.

But before she could completely calm down, the doorbell rang once more sending a chill up both of the pair's spines. _Here they come, those feelings again!_ Cream thought as her hand became cold and clammy and her knees wobbled. Looking at Cheese, she could see he was in worse shape and she patted his head.

"There, there," Cream whispered as she looked at the door. _Who could it be now_ _that would stay outside this long?_ she asked herself. _I hope Mama comes home soon_.

Opting to move away from the door and to the kitchen, where the stranger hopefully could not see them, Cream carried Cheese in there and sat at the table, thinking of some way to make the person go away. She brainstormed for a good twenty minutes, her mind periodically being interrupted by the mysterious person or by Cheese's frightened sounds.

As the knock came once again, Cream had a sudden realization. Adding up all the facts of the person's persistence, refusal to say anything, and coming late at night, Cream arrived at one conclusion. "Eggman," she whispered.

That could be the only explanation to her. _Is it the man come to take me away?_ she wondered. _Maybe he wants to use us to trap Mr. Sonic_. Cream balled her fists up and stood, angrily facing the door and pointing at it. "Well he won't take us that easily," she declared while Cheese cocked his head in confusion.

Fifteen minutes later, the kitchen was in total disarray. Standing on one of the chairs, Cream smirked confidently in her suit of assorted armor, made from various pots, pans, and anything else that she could find in the cupboards. Cheese floated beside her, wearing a red plastic cup as a helmet.

Cream grabbed a spatula from the drawer and headed back for the door, prepared for all-out war. "Why do they follow me? And Amy as well?" she questioned as she stood in front of the door. "Maybe they think we will be easily captured?" She looked at Cheese, who gave his own version of a battle cry. "You're right. We'll show them!"

The knock rumbled the door, and to them the house as well, but this time, Cream was determined. She did not know who was at the door. "It's not the future that I can see," she had said earlier, while preparing and attaching her body armor to herself. "But I do know that we should be prepared. Whether it's a friend or Eggman."

Picking up the bowl of cookies that was still beside the door, and holding her spatula above her head, Cream nodded for Cheese to open the door. As the chao twisted the locks and the knob, Cream gulped and silently prayed that it was a friend of hers. Visions of monsters and Eggman's machines passed through her head, but she kept telling herself over and over that _It's just my fantasy__and it could be someone I know._

Cheese pulled the door open, letting in the night and the stranger's presence. Cream closed her eyes, held out the bowl to the person, and raised her spatula to attack. "Have some cookies!" she cried, bringing her weapon down to what she hoped was the person's head.

"Agh! Cream it's me!" a raspy voice protested weakly. Cream opened her eyes to see a cold, scared two-tailed fox crouched over, covering his sandy orange head from her.

"Tails?" Cream gasped.

"Yes," he nodded. Standing up now that he saw he was safe, the fox gave a sheepish grin and spoke out in a raspy voice. "Your mom called and wanted me to check on you since she'll be out late."

Cream dropped the spatula and sighed in relief. So did Cheese, who danced around Tails' head, making the twin-tailed boy laugh.

"Why didn't you tell us it was you?" Cream asked curiously.

"I tried," Tails coughed. "But I've had a sore throat for the past few days."

"Then why did you come out? Why not send Mr. Sonic or Amy?"

Tails shrugged. "Your mom asked me and I had already agreed." He covered his mouth and coughed again. "Besides, Sonic's out of town and I'm guessing Amy has gone after him."

"Oh," Cream nodded. That was when she realized that Tails was shaking from the biting chill of the cold air. "Oh! Come in!" she offered, stepping aside. "You must be freezing!"

Tails walked in graciously, rubbing his arms. "I'm fine," he lied as his teeth chattered.

Cream shook her head. "You should not be out there for that long. And with a sore throat as well." She ran and retrieved a couple of blankets for Tails and led him to the guest bedroom. "You can stay here for tonight if you would like to."

Tails nodded, wrapping the blankets around him tightly. "Thanks. I think I'm going to get some sleep."

Cream nodded. "Me too. Good night Tails." With a peck on the cheek, causing him to blush heavily, Cream bounded off to her room, very happy that the case of the mysterious visitor had been solved.

* * *

"Cream?" a soft voice called as the door to the house opened and revealed a kind, motherly woman who looked like a much older version of Cream. She carried a few paper grocery bags in her hand. Slipping off her shoes, she flicked on the light switch and immediately stepped in something hard and crunchy.

"What in the world?" she wondered as she lifted her feet and saw cookies and a spatula on the ground. Brushing the crumbs of the destroyed cookie off her feet, she once again called for her daughter.

"Oh I do hope she's alright," she said to herself. "Tails should have already come, but I don't see them anywhere."

Setting the bags down in the dark kitchen, she headed for the bedrooms. Opening the guest bedroom door, she saw a small figure sleeping heavily on the bed. His tails flickered about lazily as he snored. "Thank you Tails," she whispered.

Closing the door ever so quietly, she stopped at Cream's room next and looked in on her as well. The little rabbit was snuggled under the blankets, clutching a small stuffed animal to her chest, while Cheese slept on her stomach. The woman smiled and ducked out of the room before the light from the hallway could wake them.

"Good to know that nothing happened," the woman said as she walked back to the kitchen. She turned on the lights and her mouth dropped in shock at the mess. All of the cupboards were open and every single pot, pan, and cooking utensil had been dragged from them. She also noticed that a stack of the cooking ware had been hidden neatly behind the couch in the living room as well.

"Well, almost nothing," she sighed. "Although I'm sure there's a fascinating story behind all of this." She chuckled at her daughter's overactive imagination as she stooped down and began cleaning up.

**A/N:** It's over!

**Sword:** Halt! Who's there!

**Pen:** It's me stupid. Don't be paranoid.

So any comments, critiques, etc. then please tell us.

**Pen:** The critiques would be more beneficial. As in this is trash.

**Sword:** Hey! We worked hard on it.

**Pen: **No. The author did.

**Sword:** So? En garde!


End file.
